Penn State football: Will weather spoil homecoming vs. UMass?

Penn State football returns to the field on Saturday, where it will take on UMass in this year’s homecoming game. The Nittany Lions will wear the “Generations of Greatness” uniforms, and the end zones will have a different paint style, but both appear as if they will get particularly soggy throughout the game. The weather at kickoff is expected to be wet and potentially put a damper on some of the homecoming festivities. But how will Saturday’s forecast impact the outcome of the game?

What is the weather forecast for Penn State vs UMass?

Similar to the White Out game against Iowa, expect another rainy day in Happy Valley. The chance of rain is practically 100% starting early Saturday morning and continuing into the early hours of Sunday morning.  A half inch is expected to fall during the day with another half inch Saturday night.

The winds shouldn’t be too bad, expected at around 5 to 10 miles per hour. But with a high of just 49 degrees, Saturday will be the coldest game for Penn State football to date this season.

How will the rain affect the game?

Heavy rain is enough to make every fanbase uneasy. No matter what the talent gap is between teams, rain can make any game a sloppy mess. Luckily for Penn State, the talent gap between them and UMass is about as large as an FCS game. The line has fluctuated anywhere between the Nittany Lions being a 41 to 43-point favorite throughout the week.

The biggest concern in wet conditions is turnovers. Penn State football leads the nation with only one turnover this season. QB Drew Allar has yet to turn the ball over in his Nittany Lion career. While the streak likely has to end at some point, I would expect a fairly vanilla game plan and a big lead that gets Allar out of the game early.

UMass is one of the worst teams in the FBS this season, with a 1-6 record. This will be an opportunity for Penn State to establish the run and get its starters rest in the 2^nd half. The Nittany Lions have also been opportunistic on defense this season forcing 12 turnovers. The team has a turnover margin of +2.20 per game, the best in all of college football.

This game should be over before halftime despite the weather. It just may be a little lower scoring than what would be expected with clear conditions. In a sleepy matchup with bad weather, Penn State football just needs to get the win, stay healthy, and move on to Ohio State.

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